IKEA Regrets Use of East German Prisoners

By

James Angelos

Nov. 16, 2012 12:49 p.m. ET

BERLIN—IKEA, the Swedish furniture company, expressed regret over having profited from the use of prison laborers in East Germany as it issued the findings of an investigation into its activities in the former Communist country.

The company made the statement during a presentation in Berlin on Friday, acknowledging for the first time that suppliers the company worked with had manufactured parts for IKEA products with the use of prison labor in East Germany between 25 and 30 years ago. The admission is expected to fuel...